Today’s Lady News: Mississippi Will Vote On Abortion Ban In 2011

Mississippi voters will mull a proposed ban on abortions in their 2011 election, since abortion opponents collected enough signatures to put the proposal on the ballot. [AP]

Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion extremist and the murderer of Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, is to be sentenced today. Dr. Tiller was one of the few late-term abortion providers in the nation. [Reuters]

American University’s student newspaper, the Eagle, has said it will apologize for running a column by 20-year-old student Alex Knepper, who took issue with women who say they are date raped. Activists have called Knepper and the student paper “date rape apologists” after he wrote that a woman who goes to a frat party, has five drinks, and goes back to a man’s room “is indicating that she wants sex” and should not “cry ‘date rape'” the next day. [Washington Post]

Since April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Army is currently holding its third Sexual Harassment/Sexual Assault Prevention Summit in Arlington, Virginia. This third summit is phase two of an anti-sexual assault campaign and is focusing on educating brigade and battalion leaders. [Fort Leavenworth Lamp]

Fortune magazine takes on the A-list women of Silicon Valley’s tech scene. I just wish they didn’t feel the need to mention their “power marriages.” [money.CNN.com]

A fire marshal in Forsyth County, Georgia, has been demoted and put on probation for one year for sexual harassment. Steve Anderson was found guilty of spending an inordinate amount of time at a woman’s desk fixing her computer during work hours, asked a colleague to clock in her hours before she actually arrived at work, and called a staff meeting to announce he and the woman were attending a concert together. Colleagues felt he was showing favoritism to the woman and an investigation found Anderson guilty of discrimination and sexual harassment. A spokesman would not comment on whether the woman was facing disciplinary action as well. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

A woman in a same-sex marriage has been granted a divorce in Austin, Texas, despite the fact that her marriage is technically not valid in the state. The woman married in 2004 in Massachusetts, but filed for divorce in Texas. [KVUE]

Anti-abortion protesters will hold a Good Friday protest outside of Planned Parenthood in Aurora, Illinois. It will be the first protest outside the PP clinic after a court battle over the First Amendment rights of the protesters. [Chicago Tribune]

Utah State University is funding a half-million dollar center for the women’s and gender/sexuality studies program. [Salt Like Tribune]

After “Girls Gone Wild” announced it would be appearing at a local bar to host a “foam party,” sororities at Texas A&M University at Commerce have been proactive in discussions about the possible repercussions of appearing in a video. Some chapters are even warning their sisters against participating. [The East Texan]

Police have added new domestic violence charges against the mayor of White Plains, New York, Adam Bradley. Bradley had already been charged with deliberately closing a door on his wife’s hand and has now been charged with throwing hot tea at her. His wife, Fumiko Bradley, has since announced she does not want her husband prosecuted and will not cooperate with prosecutors. [CBS News]

Young women who work in the textile industry — exposed to petroleum products and acrylic/rayon fibers — are twice as likely to develop breast cancer after menopause, according to a study published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine [Telegraph UK]

Pixlmonster has this fascinating “charticle” of worldwide statistics about prostitution and sex work. It’s totally worth checking out for some quick info presented in an eye-catching way. [Pixlmonster]

INTERNATIONAL

During his Holy Thursday service at the Vatican in Rome, the Pope called for an end to abortion, which he called the “killing of unborn children.” [Rome Reports]

Malaysia has changed the sentence of a woman who was to be caned for drinking a beer, which is against Islamic law. Instead, the mother of two will do community service. Recently, several women were caned for having sex out of wedlock. [BBC]

On Sunday, activist Tamaki Matsuoka debuted her documentary, “Torn Memories of Nanjing,” about the Japanese assailants and Chinese victims of sexual assaults in Nanjing, China, during World War II. [AP]

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